Download invitation to islam

It was the people who misunderstood and
misinterpreted them. Muslims believe in
Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob,
Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad. The
Prophets of Christianity and Judaism are
indeed the Prophets of Islam.
D. Angels and Day of Judgment
Muslims believe that there are unseen
creatures such as angels created by God
in the universe for special missions. Muslims believe that there is a Day of Judgment when all people of the world throughout the history of mankind till the last Day
of life on earth, are to be brought for accounting, reward and punishment.
E. Innocence of Man at Birth
Muslims believe that people are born free
of sin. It is only after they reach the age of
puberty and it is only after they commit sins
that they are to be charged for their mistakes. No one is responsible for or can
take responsibility for the sins of others.
However, the door of forgiveness through
true repentance is always open.
F. State and Religion
Muslims believe that Islam is a total and a
complete way of life. It encompasses all
aspects of life. As such, the teachings of
Islam do not separate religion from politics.
As a matter of fact, state and religion are
under the obedience of Allah through the
teachings of Islam. Hence, economic and
social transactions, as well as educational
and political systems, are a part of the
teachings of Islam.
Practices of Islam
God instructed the Muslims to practice what
they believe in. In Islam there are five pillars:
1. Faith (Shahadah)
The verbal commitment and pledge that there
is only One God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God, is the Faith of Islam.
2. Prayer (Salat)
The performance of the five daily prayers is
required of Muslims.
3. Fasting (Saum)
INVITATION TO ISLAM
You are invited to join the 1.2 billion Muslims of the world. Islam is a purposeful life,
individually and collectively. The purpose
is to establish equity and justice in the
world.
If you want to learn more about Islam, visit
an Islamic Center or a mosque in your area. If and when you decide to become a
Muslim, ask them to give you Shahadah.
Fasting is total abstinence from food, liquids
and intimate relations from dawn to sunset during the entire month of Ramadan.
4. Purifying Tax (Zakat)
This is an annual payment of a certain percentage of a Muslim's property, which is distributed
among the poor.
5. Pilgrimage (Hajj)
The pilgrimage to Makkah is required once in a
lifetime if the means are available. Hajj is, in
part, a memorial to the trials and tribulations of
Prophet Abraham, his wife Hagar and his eldest son, Prophet Ishmael.
Content by Ahmad H. Sakr, Ph.D. [www.iiie.net]
Islamic Center of Alameda
901 Santa Clara Ave, Alameda, CA
Masjid International Wahadah
4820 International Blvd, Oakland, CA
(510) 748 9052, [email protected]
www.icabayarea.org
Islamic Center of Alameda
Masjid International Wahadah
Islam and Muslims
The name of this religion is Islam, the
root of which, Silm or Salam, means
peace. Salam is also part of the greeting of peace among Muslims. In addition, one of the beautiful names of God
is As-Salam, meaning "The Peace".
The word, however, means much more
than just "peace". It means submission
to the One God, as well as to live in
harmony with other people and with the
environment. A Muslim is, therefore,
any person, anywhere in the world,
whose obedience, allegiance and loyalty are to God, Lord of the Universe,
and who strives to live in accordance
with God's laws.
Muslims and Arabs
The followers of Islam are called Muslims. We should not confuse Muslims
with Arabs. Muslims may be Arabs, or
they may be Turks, Persians, Indians,
Pakistanis, Indonesians, Europeans,
Africans, Americans, Chinese, or any
other nationality. Islam is not limited to
any nationality or race.
Arabs, also, are not limited to only one
religion. An Arab may be a Muslim, a
Jew, a Christian, an atheist, or part of
any other belief system.
Any person who adopts Arabic as his or
her mother tongue is called an Arab.
While there are over one billion Muslims in
the world, there are about 200 million Arabs, among whom about ten percent are
not Muslim. Thus, Arab Muslims constitute
only about twenty percent of the Muslim
population of the world.
The language of the Qur'an, the Holy Book
of Islam, is Arabic. Muslims all over the
world try to learn Arabic so that they may
be able to read the Qur'an and understand
its meaning. They pray in the language of
the Qur'an, but supplications to God may
be in any language.
Allah, the One and the Only God
Allah is the name of the One and Only
God. Allah has ninety-nine beautiful
names, such as: The Gracious, The Merciful, The Beneficent, The Creator, The AllKnowing, The All-Wise, The Lord of the
Universe, The First, The Last, and many
others.
He is the Creator of all human beings. He
is the God for the Christians, the Jews, the
Muslims, the Buddhists, the Hindus and all
others, including those who do not even
believe in Him. Muslims worship God, and
put their trust in Him as they seek His help
and guidance.
Muhammad
Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver
His Message of Peace, namely Islam. He
was born in 570 C.E. (Common Era) in
Makkah, Arabia. He was entrusted with the
Message of Islam when he was at the age
of forty years. The revelation that he received is called the Qur'an, while the message is called Islam.
Muhammad is the very last Prophet of God
to mankind. He is the final Messenger of
God. His message was and still is to all of
mankind, including the Christians and
Jews. He was sent to those religious people to inform them about the true mission
of Jesus, Moses, David, Jacob, Isaac and
Abraham.
Muhammad is considered to be the summation and culmination of all the prophets
and messengers that came before him. He
purified the previous messages from adulteration and completed the Message of
God for all humanity. He was entrusted
with the power of explaining, interpreting
and living the teachings of the Qur'an.
Sources of Islam
The legal sources of Islam are the Qur'an
and the Hadith. The Quran is the exact
words of God; its authenticity, originality
and totality are intact.
The Hadith are the reports of the sayings, deeds and approvals of the
Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet's
sayings and deeds are called Sunnah.
The Seerah is the writings of followers
of Muhammad about the life of the
Prophet. Hence, it is the life history of
the Prophet Muhammad which provides examples of daily living for Muslims.
Some Islamic Principles
A. Oneness of God
He is One and the Only One. He is not
two in one or three in one. This means
that Islam rejects the idea of trinity or
such a unity of God which implies more
than one God in one.
B. Oneness of mankind
People are created equal in front of the
Law of God. There is not superiority of one
race over another. God made us of different colors, nationalities, languages and
beliefs so as to test who is going to be better than others. No one can claim that he is
better than others. It is only God Who
knows who is better. It depends on piety
and righteousness.
C. Oneness of Messengers
and Message
Muslims believe that God sent different
messengers throughout the history of mankind. All came with the same message and
the same teachings.